General News of Tuesday, 9 April 2024

Source: Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD

Digitalisation crucial to advancement of Ghana’s justice system – Bawumia

Bawumia, the Chief Justice and other dignitaries who attended the event Bawumia, the Chief Justice and other dignitaries who attended the event

The Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has underscored the indispensability of digitalization in the advancement of Ghana’s justice system.

Speaking at the launch of LEADING Justice, the framework of the vision of the Chief Justice in Accra on Monday, April 8, 2023, Dr. Bawumia said digitalization, which is a significant feature of the Chief Justice’s vision framework, and other elements are significant to the realisation of the vision as well as the transformation of the overall justice delivery system in Ghana.

“As we have learned today, the vision of the Lady Chief Justice hinges on the fundamental pillars of law, ethics, asset management, due process digitalization, a trajectory I am profoundly interested in and committed to, and the preservation of due process—all of which are crucial for the continuing advancement of our justice system,” Dr. Bawumia said.

“Having personally launched the Electronic Case Tracking System for the criminal justice sector in 2018 and witnessing the positive changes that the e-justice system, which was launched a year later, is bringing to the administration of justice, I am particularly delighted that digitalization is a key component of this strategic vision,” he added.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia commended the Chief Justice for her commitment to enhancing the administration of justice in Ghana through her LEADING initiative and called on all stakeholders to support the vision.

“There can be no escaping the fact that the duty of the Judiciary and the Judicial Service is to bring justice closer to the people of Ghana by employing the tools and strategies that will make it much more comfortable for them to access and utilize instruments of justice.

“I note with great admiration and excitement the new impetus, focus, energy, and dynamism that Her Ladyship has brought to the administration of justice since she took over the reins of office less than a year ago. It is this new zeal and sense of urgency that have culminated in the vision that we are launching today, which would be the blueprint for her administration and point the way for the judiciary and the judicial service toward the goal that meets the justice demands of the 21st century and beyond.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to encourage all the key players in the justice delivery value chain, and indeed all of us gathered here today, to give every support that we can to support this vision of the Chief Justice so it can deliver on its goals and targets to the benefit of our country,” Dr. Bawumia added.

On the part of the government, the Vice President reiterated the government's commitment to supporting the judicial service.

“As a government, we shall continue to do more for the judicial service to ramp up the e-justice system to other levels of court beyond the high courts in Accra.

“We shall continue to invest in court infrastructure, residential accommodation for judges and magistrates, and the general re-tooling of the human resources of the institution to improve justice delivery. It is in our interest as a country to do so,” he said.